Welcome to the Weekly Recap, where we gather the top stories that happened in the past week to help you catch up with the busy world of eSports!
Team Liquid already in championship form, wins SLi 3
The International 2017 champion Team Liquid recovered just in time to defeat Mineski 3-1 in the final series of StarLadder Invitational Season 3 at CyberSport Arena in Kiev.
Liquid go home with $135,000 in prize, along with 150 circuit points for each player. Only the top 3 players in circuit points will count in a team’s total, meaning Liquid currently only have 450 circuit point, though all members have 150 each.
Mineski, the rebuilt juggernaut from Southeast Asia, drew first blood in the final behind Mushi’s fantastic performance on Venomancer, finishing Game 1 with a KDA line 11/2/20.
But the TI champions regained their composure quickly, including Miracle on his Terroblade in Game 2, when he led Liquid with a 19/4/6 KDA and a game-high 34.7K networth.
Game 3 was much closer despite Miracle playing on his signature Invoker, since the star midlaner struggled to a 6/7/8 KDA, but as usual, Miracle only need an Aghanim’s Scepter to take momentum from the other team. Minutes after completing the sceptre, Liquid brought down a tier three and a ranged barracks, allowing them to take control of the match.
Smelling blood, Liquid went in for the kill and drafted the support combo of Keeper of the Light for Kuroky and Earth Spirit for GH to help MATUMBAMAN’s Venomancer push the middle lane while Miracle on Anti-Mage and MinD_ContRoL’s Dragon Knight handle the sidelanes.
It more than worked.
By 11 minutes, Mineski lost three Tier 1s, and by the 21st minute Anti-Mage had enough damage to take down the Tier 3 in the middle lane, followed by DK’s destruction of the Melee Barracks in the middle, prompting Mineski to call GG.
Visa problems force HappyFeet out of ESL One Hamburg
ESL One Hamburg SEA qualifier winner HappyFeet will not be able to play in the Germany event after failing to secure visas on time.
HappyFeet swept Clutch Gamers 3-0 in the final of the qualifier to earn the title as SEA representatives to the first Major of the season, where $1,000,000 is at stake and 1500 circuit points will be distributed to the winners and runners-up.
“We won’t be able to attend ESL One Hamburg 2017 because of Visa issues,” announced the club through their Facebook page. “Time constraints and several issues came up while we were processing our visas.”
The club was given the newly created professional sport licenses for esports athletes in the Philippines, but not before they needed to process their visa applications.
Samsung trounces Longzhu in Worlds qfinal
Samsung Galaxy secured a spot in the 2017 World Championship semi-final after its bold strategy stun Longzhu in the last eight.
SSG, last year’s runners-up, entered the series as underdogs against LZ, which is 6-0 in the group stage and is the LCK Summer winner, but the former made the plays on the moments that count and was able to pull off the upset.
LZ was ahead in kills and gold in the middle of Game 1, but SSG capitalized on a won teamfight and quickly translated it into tower push, successfully stealing the momentum, and eventually the series from LZ.
After a successful base defense by LZ, SSG pulled back to kill a baron and an Elder Drake then returned with enough damage to end the match and take Game 1.
LZ reeled to a hot start in Game 2 but SSG adjusted quickly and put four champions in the middle lane and dictate the tempo. LZ had no choice but to relent but failed to return to the sidelanes quickly, allowing SSG to take the first tower in the bottom and ride the momentum from there.
SSG kept up with the four-man gank in Game 3 that put great pressure on LZ to anticipate where the attacks will come from, and the former dictated the pace of the match again. A win in the bottom lane saw them almost complete an ace but it did successfully lead into a baron kill, which gave SSG enough gold and power to run away with the match and seal their spot in the semi-final.
FaZe comes back from the dead to beat Astralis in ELEAGUE Premier
FaZe Clan just made the mother of all comebacks as it turned back Astralis in the ELEAGUE CS:Go Premier 2017 final at G-FUEL ELEAGUE Arena in Atlanta, USA.
Astralis were four points away from taking a 1-0 lead over FaZe in the final after erecting a 12-3 lead in the first half of Cache, but the latter turned the tables in the reversal and stole the opener 16-14.
With Astralis’ hearts broken, FaZe then trampled on the Danish side 12-3 in the first half of Overpass, before clinching the championship in the second half and finishing the map 16-7.
FaZe pocketed half a million dollars, while Astralis settled down for $150,000 as runner up.
NRG names Overwatch team as San Francisco Shock
In accordance with the Overwatch League rules, NRG eSports will christen its team as the San Francisco Shock.
According to rules, old e-sports organizations that bought a franchise into Blizzard’s own Overwatch League need to create a new team name for its squad.
Team EnVyUs will name its Texas franchise as Dallas Fuel, while Neatese named its squad Shanghai Dragons.
